I'm 198cm tall. Are you giving me a Maradona template?

Chapter 304 Is this our home turf?
Liverpool scored their third goal.

That basically ended the suspense of the match.

The reporters in the media section were all ready for post-match interviews.

The main character is definitely not the sunshine who performed a hat trick.

Although he was undoubtedly the best player in this game.

However, fans are already getting a bit tired of Sunshine scoring a hat-trick.

What everyone is concerned about now is Mourinho's post-match evaluation of the game.

However, Mourinho was clearly somewhat unprepared.

His words left the reporters present speechless.

What was the score? 0-3. What does that mean? It means I've won three Premier League titles. The managers of the other 19 teams combined only have two. I have three, they have two, so please respect, respect, respect!

Regardless of what Klopp said in the subsequent interview.

This will definitely be the headline after the game.

[Mourinho: Losing by three goals means I have three Premier League titles!]

These words made Manchester United fans both angry and amused.

Why don't you just lose by thirteen goals and win thirteen Premier League titles for Manchester United?
As soon as these words came out.

Just means.

Mourinho himself has already given up on himself.

He linked Manchester United's loss to the honors he had won.

Although Mourinho was furious, being outmaneuvered by his own manager still infuriated Manchester United fans.

Many Manchester United legends have criticized Mourinho.

under these circumstances.

the next day.
Big news broke.

Manchester United Football Club has made an official announcement.

Mourinho is out!

The team contacted club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is currently coaching Molde in the Norwegian Eliteserien, to temporarily take over as the team's head coach.

Solskjaer truly lives up to his reputation as a loyal Manchester United player.

Without any guarantees, he resigned from his position as Molde's head coach and traveled a long distance to take over this mess.

Of course.
These are the things that happened at Manchester United.

It has little to do with Liverpool.

After the game ended.

The entire Liverpool team boarded a plane bound for Japan.

They're going to participate in this season's Club World Cup.

This is Sunshine's first time participating in the Club World Cup.

Although he helped Monaco win the Champions League and qualify for the Club World Cup, Sunny transferred to Liverpool that season.

Therefore, this was his first time having the opportunity to participate in this event.

Talk about it.

The Club World Cup is a competition that FIFA has always wanted to promote to rival the Champions League, but because the teams from other continents are indeed not as strong as the teams from Europe, the competition has been somewhat lackluster until now.

Even the host country didn't have many people willing to compete for it.

Therefore, this year's Club World Cup will still be held in Japan—after all, the Club World Cup has a strong connection with Japan.

The Club World Cup was formerly known as the Toyota Cup.

Previously, the event was sponsored by Toyota.

The competition is contested by the winners of the European Champions League and the Copa Libertadores each year.

The prize money is very generous.

That's why we were able to invite these two championship teams.

The Club World Cup was formerly known as the Toyota Cup, which in turn was formerly known as the Intercontinental Cup.

The purpose of this tournament is to pit the two strongest teams in world football against each other to determine the true king of the world.

That's why there was a match between the champion teams from the two continents that represent the highest level of football in the world.

Later, after FIFA President Blatter took office.

They are determined to use the Club World Cup to compete with the Champions League for influence.

That's how the Club World Cup came about.

It replaced the original Toyota Cup starting in 2005.

We want to bring in the continental cup champions from all continents.

However, although there are more participating teams.

But the main attraction is still the competition for the Champions League title and the Copa Libertadores title.

The champion and runner-up each year are most likely to be decided between these two teams.

After all, the gap in football strength between different continents is too large.

Only South American champions can rival European champions.

However, this is only a comparison. In terms of strength, the South American champion is still quite far behind. It's not impossible for the South American champion to defeat the European champion, but the probability is very low.

There is still a significant gap between South American and European football.

The national team is doing alright.

Many South American national teams have key players who play in Europe. They are the main players or even the core players of European clubs. Therefore, South American national teams such as Brazil and Argentina are still able to compete with top European teams and are even favorites to win the World Cup.

But the club couldn't do anything about it.

South American teams are no match for the Champions League winners in terms of strength.

After all, almost the entire South America serves as a youth training base for major European leagues.
Young South American talents who have made a name for themselves all aspire to play football in Europe.

why?
Of course, it's because of money.

You can earn 100,000 a year in South America and 1 million a year in Europe. Why don't you go?
In the past.

The strength of top clubs in South America is not far behind that of European powerhouses.

but now.

Even the best South American clubs can't compare to the top European clubs.

They've given up the struggle; any promising young players they see will definitely be sent to Europe.

Making money, meals not included.

This has led to the Club World Cup essentially becoming a playground for European champions.

Moreover, now with the addition of champion teams from various continents.

The prestige of the competition is also declining.

For Liverpool players.

They didn't really take their opponents in the Club World Cup seriously.

Even River Plate, the Copa Libertadores champions.

They didn't really care.

They're only here to collect their pre-ordered third championship trophy.

When the plane carrying the entire Liverpool team landed at Tokyo's Narita Airport, they were greeted with a warm welcome by the fans there.

Liverpool has a large following worldwide, including in Japan.

In addition, Liverpool is currently the strongest team, and the Japanese admire the strong, so there are even more fans.

Liverpool fielded their strongest lineup for the Club World Cup, a gathering of superstars, which naturally drew huge crowds of Japanese fans.

From the moment they stepped out of the passageway, they were further drowned out by the cheers of the Japanese fans at the arrival gate.

Countless female high school students and boys screamed.

Of course, star player Sunny is the most popular person.

Although Yang Guang is Chinese, that doesn't stop him from having a large number of fans in Japan.

Many female middle school students held up posters with sunshine on them and drew red hearts to express their love for him.

Sunshine, walking among the crowd, clearly enjoyed this treatment.

He waved to the female students frequently.

Many boys are also sunny fans because they are strong, can score goals, and have a rebellious personality, making them very suitable idols for rebellious boys.

They also chanted the name of sunshine.

The sunlight was slightly colder to them than to the girls; his gaze mostly fell on the girls.

Chinese media reporters were surprised to find that Sunshine was so popular in Japan.

They looked at each other.

As everyone knows, China and Japan are sworn enemies.

As a Chinese.

Just how remarkable is it that someone enjoys such popularity in Japan?

"This is something I really didn't expect."

"They are truly a source of pride for China!"

This is actually quite normal.

The Japanese fear power but do not cherish virtue.

They worship the strong.

The sunlight was so strong.

What's so surprising about it that it won the favor of the Japanese?

For Liverpool, participating in the Club World Cup is no different from going on vacation.

The opponent was simply not enough to make Liverpool cautious.

The day after arriving in Edo.

The team did not arrange any training sessions, but instead allowed everyone to move around freely.

So the players went out shopping or strolled around Japan's famous rainbow-light district.

For many players who love to play.

Came here.

It felt like arriving in paradise.

Liverpool's players weren't even disguised.

They left the hotel wearing sunglasses.

They became the most watched group of people in the entire city.

I spent a day in Japan.

Liverpool did not begin training until the following day.

A large number of fans and media arrived at the stadium.

This Club World Cup has also garnered a lot of attention – all thanks to the sunshine.

Because of his relationship.

The viewership and buzz surrounding this Club World Cup in China are almost on par with the World Cup.

Yang Guang was unable to be selected for the Chinese national team.

so.
If he can lead Liverpool to win the Club World Cup.

That counts as winning a world championship – the Club World Cup is also a world championship.

The format of the Club World Cup is as follows.

Because there are too many participating teams.

Therefore, it's impossible for it to be just one match like the Toyota Cup.

The Club World Cup includes qualifying rounds and the main tournament.

There are a total of seven matches.

It will be completed in four days.

The competition format is a single-elimination tournament.

The host country's Japanese league champion will first play a knockout match against the Oceania continental champion. The winner will then be drawn against the champions from Asia, Africa, North and Central America and the Caribbean to compete against each other.

The winner will face the champions from Europe and South America – the latter will advance directly to the semifinals.

The winners will meet in the final.

So, in reality, Liverpool had not even arrived in Japan yet.

The Club World Cup has already begun.

The host nation, the Japanese league champion Kashima Antlers, surprisingly fought their way through the competition to reach the semi-finals.

However, they were rather unlucky.

In the semi-finals, their opponent is Liverpool.

The other semi-final matchup is between AFC Champions League winner Al Ain and Copa Libertadores winner River Plate.

Regarding his opponent.

Liverpool had absolutely no idea about it.

For example, at the pre-match press conference.

A Japanese reporter asked Yang Guang a question.

"Which Kashima Antlers player impressed you the most?"

This stumped the sunlight.

Impressive?

What a joke.

I don't even know who's on this team.
You ask me if it left a deep impression?
This question made the press conference somewhat awkward.

Some Japanese people are quite unhappy about this.

How dare this Xia person look down on Japan like that?
This small detail fully illustrates the point.

Liverpool didn't even bother to learn about their opponents' characteristics before the match.

If it's a regular competition...

This cannot be blamed on Liverpool underestimating their opponents.

The power gap is too great.

So there's really nothing to criticize about Liverpool's players not paying attention to their opponents.

Because there are too many teams in the world.

Liverpool cannot possibly know everything about every team.

It's like asking Messi, "Which player on the Indian national team has left the deepest impression on you?"
Aren't you making things difficult for Messi?

This question was asked without prior communication.

Isn't that just inviting humiliation?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp didn't even check on the opponents' situation.

Not to mention Liverpool's players.

This is also evident.

How do the Champions League winners view the Club World Cup?

In their view.

The Club World Cup matches are easier than some preseason games.

Perhaps only the riverbed can lift their spirits slightly.

That's how arrogant the European champions are.

Because the European leagues are the highest level of football leagues in the world.

The Champions League is the highest level of competition in Europe.

In terms of technical and tactical level alone, it has already surpassed the World Cup.

Teams that can stand out in the Champions League and win the title.

They are the strongest team in the world.

Even World Cup champions can't compare to them—because national teams and clubs have different characteristics.

The national team may have different players each time, resulting in inconsistent skills and tactics, unstable personnel composition, and a lack of teamwork.

Clubs are different.

The players spend every day together.

It can execute very smooth and complex tactics.

Therefore, these two aspects cannot be directly compared.

Before the Liverpool players took to the field, Klopp simply told them: Just perform at the level you've been doing in training.

Then he added: Don't get hurt.

Liverpool showed some respect to their opponents in this match.

Or.

They're giving FIFA a lot of face.

They did not field a large number of substitutes and youth team players as they did in the League Cup.

Although Klopp really wanted to do it.

However, Liverpool FC wouldn't be so lacking in emotional intelligence.

The Club World Cup is FIFA's prestige project.

If you don't take it seriously...

Isn't this a blatant slap in the face to FIFA?
therefore.

Despite facing a relatively weak opponent, Liverpool fielded a largely core squad to ensure high viewership for the Club World Cup.

Anyway, for Liverpool...

There are only two matches.

It's just a matter of gritting your teeth.

There's no need to cause any trouble with FIFA over this.

Liverpool, fielding their full-strength squad, is certainly not a team Kashima Antlers can easily fool.

Despite this, Liverpool's players appeared very relaxed on the pitch.

However, Kashima Antlers quickly found themselves at a disadvantage across the board.

They had originally planned to give the European champions a good match and show their opponents how formidable the Japanese champions were.

But that idea quickly faded away.

Their resistance lasted for fifteen minutes.

Then, the defense crumbled with a header from Yang Guang inside the penalty area.

A simple 45-degree cross.

Inside the restricted area.

Liverpool only has one player, Sunny.

Several Japanese players practically hung on the sun but still couldn't stop him from scoring.

One to zero.

Liverpool took an easy lead.

Yang Guang, who was about to celebrate after scoring, was quickly stunned.

because
at the scene.

The Japanese fans actually cheered enthusiastically.

Sunlight showed a look of surprise.

What's going on?

Is this our home ground?
(End of this chapter)